Tatra 603 X-5 Limousine 1967 Metallic Blue

Tatra 603 X-5 Limousine 1967 Metallic Blue by Autocult

A Concept that did not come to fruition  
With the Type 603, the Czechoslovak Tatra plant succeeded in 1956 in creating a passenger car that also received much praise outside the then Eastern Bloc states. The aerodynamics were successful, a powerful V-8 engine in the rear ensured decent propulsion of the sedan and thanks to an intensive facelift, the luxury car was able to assert itself on the market until 1975 Behind the scenes, however, there were also several efforts to adapt the recipe of success of the 603 for other projects, including the 1966 project under the abbreviation 603 X, which goal it was to create an modern successor model. This task was commissioned to a branch plant in Bratislava, Slovakia.   For a possible 603 successor, several designers initially submitted several hundred proposals, of which the first sighting finally led to a reduction of twenty designs. These were then implemented with scale 1:10 models. Finally a full-size modeling was planned for the five best designs – marked with the abbreviations X-1 to X-5. Of these versions, in turn, only the design X-5 ultimately got the thumbs up by the company management, which meant that it should be converted into a ready-to-drive concept. In the summer months of 1966, Ivan Mičíkvec, as head of the project, and Ján Cina, the designer from whom the design originated, began with the realization of the concept car.   After four months of construction, testing and final finishing, the development crew completed their work on New Year’s Eve 1966. However, it was not until March 1967 that the car was presented to an illustrious circle of experts in the factory, but the care ultimately failed the management and never progressed beyond the stage of the concept car.